Statement From U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker on the Release of 2015 Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Statistics

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker today released the following statement on the release of the 2015 Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau. The report indicated the median household income was $56,500 in 2015, up 5.2 percent from 2014, and the official poverty rate fell 1.2 percent from 2014, to 13.5 percent. In addition, more of the U.S. population was covered by health insurance at some point last year.

“Today’s income, poverty and health insurance data release provides solid proof that the President’s economic policies are improving the lives of Americans across our country. For the first time since the economic recession in 2007, household income increased at significant rates. Fewer people are living in poverty, and more than 90 percent of the population had health insurance for part or all of 2015, the highest level measured by the Census Bureau since they started collecting this data in 2008."

“All these improvements were broad-based across most demographic and socioeconomic groups, but we still have more work to do. Poverty rates for women and minorities are still too high relative to the rest of the population, average salaries for women working full time is still only 80 percent of their male counterparts, and 29 million people are still without health insurance. We are committed to continuing our efforts to improve all these important areas.”